A05449 Actions:

A05449 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYMEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)

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BILL NUMBER: A5449
SPONSOR: Weprin
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TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the public health law, in relation to
the release of a non-certified copy of the birth certificate of an adop-
tee without a court order
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PURPOSE:
Allows for the release of a non-certified copy of an original birth
certificate to an adoptee without the need to obtain a court order for
such document as long as such adoptive person and birth parents register
with the state's adoption registry and consent to such release.
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SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends Public Health Law section 4138-c(5) to authorize an
Adoptee to have access a non-certified copy of his or her original birth
certificate without the necessity of obtaining a court order. Such
document can be provided if the adopted person and his or her birth
parents have registered with the state's adoption registry and have
consented to the release of this identifying information. If only one
birth parent executed the surrender agreement or consented to the
adoption, then the registration of the other parent is not necessary for
the release of information pursuant to this subdivision.
Section 2: This law becomes effective 180 days after it shall have
become law.
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JUSTIFICATION:
There are three kinds of information currently available to adoptees who
register with the Adoption Information Registry maintained by the state
Department of Health: non-identifying, identifying, and health-related
information. Non-identifying information about an adoptee's birth
parents is often furnished by adoption agencies and can include reli-
gion, ethnicity, race, education, occupation, etc; the name of the agen-
cy that arranged the adoption; and the facts and circumstances relating
to the nature and cause of the adoption. This information is available
even if the birth parents have not registered with the state. Identify-
ing information - name and address of each party - is only shared if the
adoptee and his or her birth parents have all registered and given
consent for this information to be released. Medical information can
also be furnished by a birth parent regardless of whether or not that
person consents to the release of identifying information.
This bill would apply only to those situations where an adoptee and any
required birth parents have all registered and consented to the release
of identifying information. It would allow willing adoptees with willing
biological parents to have access to a non-certified copy of their
original birth certificate without the added burden of having to obtain
an order from the court in which the original adoption order was grant-
ed.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2010:S.1842- REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
2008:S.2261- REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
2006:S.4792- REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES, CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
03/15/11 referred to judiciary
04/15/11 amend (t) and recommit to judiciary
04/15/11 print number 6368a
05/18/11 amend (t) and recommit to judiciary
05/18/11 print number 6368b
01/04/12 referred to judiciary
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
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EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become law.

A05449 Text:

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5449
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 9, 2017
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Judiciary
AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to the release of a
non-certified copy of the birth certificate of an adoptee without a
court order
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 4138-c of the public health law
2 is amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
3 (c) If the department determines that there is a corresponding regis-
4 tration for the adoptee and for either of the birth parents, and each
5 has consented to the release of identifying information about the birth
6 parents and the adoptee, respectively, the department shall notify the
7 court wherein the adoption occurred that a non-certified copy of the
8 adoptee's original birth certificate, if available, shall be promptly
9 released to the adoptee without necessity of a court order. Provided,
10 that if only one birth parent executed the surrender agreement or
11 consented to the adoption, then the registration of the other birth
12 parent in the registry shall not be necessary for the release of such a
13 birth certificate pursuant to this paragraph.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
15 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, any rules and regu-
16 lations necessary to implement the provisions of this act on its effec-
17 tive date are authorized to be made on or before such date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09534-01-7